Thread for people to explain why they test for covid

[Daffntulip]

As some people seem completely flabbergasted as to why anyone would test for covid, thought I'd start a thread to help those posters. If you run short on intelligence or empathy or whatever other reason compels you to ask that question, this is for you.

Well if there were easy to use tests available for everything and myself or kids were sick and I wasn’t sure what it was, I’d use that too!! Handy to know what you’re sick with especially when you have a mum who goes into hospital at the drop of a hat (2019 we didn’t spend Christmas with her at her request because we had colds and chest infections)

My elderly mum has never had Covid and I won’t visit her if I have it, whereas if I feel well enough I will go to work, the shops, etc.

I test because I have very clinically vulnerable relatives and a grandmother aged 99 who has COPD. I would hate to be the person who infected any of my loved ones. I work around sick people so picking it up is a possibility.

my DH is especially vulnerable to Covid. So vulnerable that he gets vaccinated every 4 months.

if someone in our house catches covid or any serious illness, we have to institute containment protocols immediately.

we always have a stack of covid tests in the house and use them every time someone gets sick

To protect others who are more vulnerable than me.

Because when I've had covid in the past I've had long covid. I want to know how bad whatever illness I have is going to be. If it's covid I know I'll probably feel worse on day 4-5

Because if I get covid I have to go for IV antivirals asap due to a complete lack of antibodies from vaccines and a completely non existent immune system due to two very rare conditions

I wouldn’t take chest infections anywhere. I hate it when people come round with colds. It always becomes something worse in my case.

Don't want it or to pass it on. I'd get tests for other stuff if they were available. It my choice- annoying when.people got an opinion to give.

Because its v contagious and I know many people including family who are clinically vulnerable.

Also, I've recently had it and still have lingering symptoms post negative testing. Why would you want to spread it around?

I work beside someone very vulnerable so need to make a decision whether to work from home or office.

I can understand why you’d want to avoid passing it on - do you test without any symptoms then as a just in case? Presumably you just wouldn’t visit with any cold type symptoms?

Curiosity really.

Because I live with someone who is extremely vulnerable and would want to avoid passing it in if possible. Equally long COVID is real and I wouldn't want to be responsible for giving it to anyone. It's not hard.

Just out of interest. I had it for the 5th time in July. Knowing I had it again didn't change my plans after day 2 when I felt better but it was fun to know I could chalk up a 5th time.

I like knowing what I've got. I figure it's useful information, and it's interesting.

I still get 5 days off work if I test positive! That’ll do for me!

It's useful information as I've had Covid before and would help to know I may be about to experience the same course of illness again, plus I'm not the healthiest of people. If it's possible to know, then I'd rather know.

I test because my healthy and fit 40 something friend has been in a wheelchair for two years with long covid. Because my mum became delirious, incontinent and was hospitalised with Covid. Because another friend had long covid and was so ill see couldn't even read a book. Because I work at a university and I've seen several healthy young people have to give up their degrees because of long covid.
But everyone says it's just a sniffle! Everyone says you can get seriously ill from a cold too! Bollocks. With the exception of my mum, all these people were young and healthy. I simply don't believe they would have become so ill with a cold. My mum's also had many colds and flu in her old age and never been so ill. I have no time for people who minimise the devastating effects of covid because for them it was a sniffle.

Not the reason I test, but relevant. I had a pre-op appointment this week for a hysterectomy and was asked if I’d had Covid in the past three months. I was told that they won’t operate if you have, due to a greatly increased risk of blood clots. But for those who don’t test, how would they know?

I test partly out of respect to other people and also because my husband is clinically vulnerable - he has COPD and epilepsy. He caught Covid for the first time in July and was more ill than I've ever seen him in nearly 50 years; it took him two weeks before he began to feel back to normal and was in bed for most of that time. I'm always mindful that the people I come into contact with at work, I'm the supermarket, I'm the doctor's surgery etc could be vulnerable or have elderly/vulnerable relatives and I couldn't live with myself if I thought I had passed Covid on to someone like that.

Tests are cheap, readily available, and very easy to use, and I don't think there's any excuse not to use one. I would test for any common infectious disease if tests were available, but I'm not aware of any tests for flu or other illnesses.

I had Covid a few months ago. I was just interested if it was Covid as several people at work had it. I’m quite fascinated by Viruses, I just think it’s quite interesting and if you can know what you have why not?

There are so many reasons, and I’m not too ignorant to know this

Ha! I've still got a few leftover tests in the house and I still can't be bothered to test! So I don't know if I had Covid or tonsillitis last month, for example, and I don't really care either, as whatever it was made me feel awful for a few days!

I've been ill with long covid for 2.5 years because of people like you.